


Impressive

by FluffKills



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Blind Date, Drabble, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 18:04:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6917614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffKills/pseuds/FluffKills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl checks her hair again. She’s nervous, it’s compulsive, but she hadn’t been on a date since.. well, it had been a very long time. Her friends had pushed her into this, Garnet told her she knew the woman from the gym and was sure they’d get along. But what would Jasper even sen in a woman like her?</p><p> </p><p>Jaspearl drabble as a gift for an artist I admire</p>
            </blockquote>





	Impressive

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Auddish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auddish/gifts).



Pearl checks her hair again. She’s nervous, it’s compulsive, but she hadn’t been on a date since.. well, it had been a very long time. Her friends had pushed her into this, Garnet told her she knew the woman from the gym and was sure they’d get along.

Her hair was still, in theory, fine. Was her makeup? Slender fingers fidget over her face, had she added enough colour to her pale complexion? She wasn’t sure... being a redhead , especially one with pale hair like hers, meant skin that had two modes; ghostly and broiled lobster.

Pearl sighs, smoothing out her blouse. She could cover her complexion, but her body was another matter. Garnet was thick with legs that put Tina Tuner to shame, and Amethyst, her roommate, was curvy in every sense of the word. And then Pearl looked at herself and found herself lacking.

Dancing made one strong, but when you did it as often as she did, it broke you down too, your feet bleeding, your feminine fat turning into tight muscle. Vanishing your womanly charms under the blowtorch of intense motions that pushed the human body to the edge every day in the name of beauty.

Pearl found her small chest and tall, slim frame boyish. Unappealing in repose, more spidery than willowy when she was being ungenerous to herself. Only in motion did she feel beautiful.

The restaurant was mostly empty at this hour. She’d been told Jasper would be dressed in black and in Garnet’s word, “The tallest woman there. You won’t miss her.”

“How tall precisely, Garnet? Taller than you?” Her friend decided to remain annoyingly enigmatic.

Garnet was right. Near the back there was a table for two, looking like it should belong to one compared to the woman sitting at it. Jasper pushes thick blonde hair from her eyes and Pearl can see her checking a phone. The phone was dwarfed in her hand. She scaled up a little too large for the world.

Her skin was dark, and Pearl sees a smattering of white across it, over her nose, around her eyes. Pearl remembered vaguely what that was, not the name, but that she’d seen it before. It was striking, as were her eyes, a surprising hazel and unexpected.

Pearl had dressed pretty but conservative, her blouse silky and pale blue, peach capris and white sandals picked to make her look light and summery.  

Jasper had dressed for the summer too. Pearl stops short, her feet freezing in place, clasping her clutch to her chest as she takes it all in. There were no actual sleeves on the top the big woman was wearing, showing off thick arms with muscles of a serious lifter instead of a primping bodybuilder, not defined to painful precision but present in every motion. The white marks spatter like paint over her arms where pigment vanishes in a paleness Pearl viscerally empathises with. The shirt she’d chosen had a tiger on it though, perhaps in deference to a date, it was done in golden ink on black, eyes picked out in emerald sequins. It might have been made for a man theoretically larger than Jasper, but it was struggling with her chest, a fight Pearl hoped ended poorly for the fabric.

Pearl’s hand goes to her hair again, as she slows, nervously brushing it . To call her motions like a timid deer was to lose the perfect opportunity to call on the image of a slender gazelle, perhaps an impala. She picks her way through the tables to Jasper’s corner, her stomach tightening when more is revealed. Legs that didn’t fit under the table, causing the woman to sit with them to the side. Heavy boots. Jeans that were nice but faded and tight. Thick lips, parted as Jasper looks at her phone, a large thumb directed a game.

This was a mistake. Jasper was gorgeous. She had to be almost seven feet, and muscle, and curves, and strength and beauty. And she grins at something on her phone and Pearl nearly dies, perfectly white teeth brush over her lip, fang scraping, then she’s smiling wide, before she puts it down, her head lifting up as their eyes meet almost accidentally.

Pearl can feel her cheeks going crimson. The other woman’s eyes widen as she recognises the rose pin Pearl said she’d wear, since at the time she had no idea what outfit she’d end up wanting for herself. It was too late now, there was no escape, so choking back her fear, the dancer steps forward.

“Oh shit, you’re beautiful.” The words were almost too quiet to hear, and Pearl realises Jasper might not even realise she was saying it aloud. And that made it all the more potent. When was the last time she had heard any complement so raw, so unrehearsed?

Pearl slips into the other seat. “Thank you,” she says, smiling to herself, and Jasper looks shocked, clearly understanding her error now. “Ah! Right, um... I’m Jasper,”her date tries to recover. Gruff, her voice was so harsh and raspy but still feminine, and it reminded Pearl obscurely of leather and cigarettes. “You’re lovely too. “ Pearl adds. She holds her hand out and Jasper takes it, hers almost enveloping Pearls’ delicate fingers entirely, bringing the hand up to her dark lips. Pearl squeaks, having expected a handshake.

“P-pearl. And nice to meet you.” She laughs nervously, completely thrown off balance, the little power she felt she had from that complement fading as almost wolfish eyes watch her and that rakish grin comes back. “Are you always this forward on a blind date?”

“Only when I make the mistake of giving away how gorgeous she is and I don’t have to pretend anymore,” growls the other woman.  Pearl can’t help but laugh.  Relaxing, she sets her clutch down, and Jasper reaches behind her chair, passing over a bouquet, the paper rumpled and the blooms perhaps showing that they’d been carried by a less than delicate woman. Pink roses.

“How did you even...?” breathes Pearl, her pale eyes wide.

“Garnet’s been acting like a cheat sheet for what you like. What I should bring, what I should wear....”

“What you should...” Pearl starts, then pictures her friend in her mind’s eye. The woman knew her too well. What did Pearl want, in her heart of hearts? Someone like Jasper shoved in a poorly fitting button up shirt and slacks? Or tickets to the gun show, an easy smile and jeans she’d been poured into? She’ll thank Garnet later.

Pearl pushes her hair back and pulls her hand reluctantly away. Fishing a little, she asks, “What else did she tell you about me?” Jasper chuckles, and the woman can feel those eyes dragging over her.

“Said you’re a dancer. Fit. Stylish. And that you wouldn’t be frightened of a big girl like me.” Jasper was well over a foot taller than Pearl and the slender woman imagines, even with muscle weight that made her heavier than she appeared, the weightlifter was certainly twice her weight. It was exciting. Very exciting.

Pearl’s smile grows artful as she glances at the drinks menu. “Mmm, she’s right. I’m surprised that’s an issue for you. Doesn’t everyone like a big teddy bear?” Jasper laughs, loud and easy.

“They’re worried I’ll break them,” says the woman, and Pearl has to laugh softly. The waiter comes over and she orders a bottle of wine for the pair, causing the other woman to raise an eyebrow.

“My treat. “ says Pearl, admiring the other woman and bathing in the appreciative gaze she gets back. She doesn’t feel awkward at all, now. She feels like a swan. Beauty and grace even in stillness. Her paleness a glory to rest in Jasper’s soft hands. Her tight muscles making her strong enough not to be fragile.  The wine is pouring and they’re laughing and Pearl finds herself wondering what she’d been so frightened of. Not a woman like Jasper, but her own uncertainty.

Willows bend, they don’t break, and Pearl finds herself idly wondering, as they start on their second glasses, if Jasper can dance. She’s been looking for a new partner for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> [Size difference murders me, you know? Visit my tumblr please ](http://fluffkills.tumblr.com)


End file.
